Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the United States on the last Thursday of November. It's a national holiday meant to be spent with family. The entire country comes to a halt; to give you an idea, it's the busiest air travel day of the entire year. People return to their hometowns to be with their loved ones.
On that day, tradition dictates dining together, and turkey is the star dish in all kitchens, though with different sauces and side dishes. Pumpkin pie is also very typical on that day. Here is a complete menu if you feel like making it.
The truth is that it had never crossed my mind to celebrate it. However, this year we're going to give it a try. Why? Here are our reasons:
- Because I think it's a fantastic idea to have a special day for THANKSGIVING. Our children have many more things than they could ever need, especially the essential ones (health, home, family, LOVE...), and it's good to find a moment to pause and give thanks for all of it. In fact, we try to do it every day, but I like the idea of having an OFFICIAL DAY OF THANKS (and until now we didn't have one, hehe...).
- Because it is a good time to reflect, to appreciate, and to share everything we have.
- Because it is an opportunity to learn about the tradition of another country and open their minds to other cultures. The idea is to research the origin of this holiday and together prepare typical dishes for that day that we don't usually make at home.
- Because it's a good time to kick off Christmas and give it a meaning beyond nougat and gifts.
- Because any excuse is a good excuse for a special dinner and the kids love it!
We will adapt it to our lives and celebrate it on Friday, because there's no school the next day, so they can stay up later.
We'll spend a few days beforehand preparing everything. We'll research together information about the origin of this beautiful tradition. If you're interested in the topic, I recommend this page where you can learn more details about its history.
We will also put up a board or a large piece of paper at home on which we will write the reasons why we want to give thanks in the days leading up to it. Since the little one still can't write, drawings are also fine!
We will dedicate time to think about and write (or draw) the reasons why we are thankful for the rest of the family members and we will read them before starting dinner.
We will have dinner and try the new dishes and then spend some time writing cards to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and thank family who live far away.
Oh! And we'll also have a soundtrack! My kids' school plays it all the time and we love it, I'll leave you with this song "GRACIAS A TI" (THANKS TO YOU) in case you don't know it.
And you, are you encouraged to celebrate it? Are there any other holidays from other countries that you have incorporated into your lives? I'm open to hearing all of them!
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